(Mostly) Spoiler Free Review of ‘Sleepy Hollow’

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a short story written by Washington Irving. It has been around for over 200 years and it inspired many adaptations, including the 1999 Tim Burton film. There’s a pretty good chance that you’ve at least heard of it or know the story. Except the people in Sleepy Hollow, the new show that premiered last night on Fox, have no idea of the legendary tale that is coming to life. Now, I didn’t have high expectations for this show because it sounded far-fetched. Like the classic story, Ichabod Crane fights the Headless Horseman. Except, this show takes place in the 21st century and Crane and the Headless Horseman are from 1781. That must have been one hell of a pitch to get this show greenlit.

Now, the show was not as bad as I had expected. It answered a lot of questions in the first episode, such as why Ichabod is British despite fighting the Red Coats in the opening scene and how The Headless Horseman and him aren’t dead. Although, it didn’t answer how Ichabod woke up shirtless and then came across a shirt after he was arrested for, presumably, running in the middle of the street. The latter one could be explained in a future episode, though.

I was a little excited to see Ichabod Crane, played by Tom Mison, react to Abbie Mills, played by Nicole Beharie. Not only is she a female lieutenant, she is also African-American. Since Ichabod just came out of a 250-year coma, there could have been some friction. Luckily, he’s an abolitionist so they get along just fine. They do have a great chemistry because we all know how their relationship will pan out. A prophecy is also told that will set up the next 7 years of the show and how Ichabod and Abbie’s fates are intertwined.

Sleepy Hollow is a story that will most likely get a few scares out of people. This show does deliver a few scary moments, but resorts to a cheap jump-scare at the very end. The show did have shining moments of comedy, mostly directed at Ichabod’s complete confusion of modern day society. We see his child-like wonder over power windows and confusion as to why there is a Starbucks on every block.

Now, I am very interested to see how this show pans out. It seems that Sleepy Hollow could have the potential to jump the shark very early on in the series. The pilot was good enough to keep me coming back for another episode, but the plot in general could keep new viewers from watching. As of right now, the jury’s still out as to whether or not this show could last. I can be honest and say that I wouldn’t be torn apart, if the show was cancelled. Sleepy Hollow airs Mondays at 9 on Fox.